Rodney Campbell's Blog

When it got fully dark it was time for Vonny to go nuts lighting the rocks on fire :).

I’d never played with actual fire when light painting so this was a new and novel experience for me. The way the flames slowly move and flow over the rocks and water is quite mesmerising. It doesn’t last all that long however so you do have to time your shooting fairly well.

Flicker

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm, 108 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

I of course wanted to mix it up with some traditional light painting tools :).

And to cap off the evening – mixing the flaming rock with a steel wool spin up on top with a backdrop of the Milky Way behind.

Shooting Stars

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm, 434 sec at f/8, ISO 100

and thus another evening of fun and frivolity ends. Good times with some friends out shooting and experimenting – this is what it’s all about.

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They say all roads lead to the same destination (or Rome – depends who you ask :)). Now I don’t know if that’s really true or not. However when it comes to the water flowing in Sugarloaf creek all roads lead to this lovely set of horseshoe falls at the bottom of the cascades.

The Cascades

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm, 1/4 sec at f/16, ISO 50

Along the way there Gerry and I discovered some very nice little areas to shoot – including this particularly scenic little cascades amongst the lush rainforest.

Swirl

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 19 mm, 61 sec at f/11, ISO 100

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

All Roads Lead to One

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 18 mm, 1.3 sec at f/16, ISO 100

At the bottom however this double set of falls is quite lovely. The water is quite wide here at the bottom making it a little difficult to shoot. A stitched panorama might have done this more justice but this shot from this incredibly green rock opposite will just have to suffice.

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A spectacular morning out at Balmain East here on Sydney Harbour for this magnificent rendition of backdraft in the sky.

Gerry was originally going to join me on this trip but unfortunately something came up last minute and he wasn’t able to make it… This is what you missed mate :)…

Backdraft

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 44 mm, 62 sec at f/11, ISO 100 x 10 Frames

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

I’d originally intended on shooting at Lookes Avenue Reserve (because I’d never shot there before). After I’d arrived and checked out the possible compositions from there however I decided to move elsewhere.

It was lucky that I was early enough to head to Illoura Reserve instead.

At over a minute per frame and ten (10) separate frames it took over ten minutes to capture all the images for this wide stitched panorama. The sky was just perfect and framed the cityscape with the lights still on in the buildings.

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More opportunities for some mirrored reflections whilst hiking in Berowra. This time with the mangroves hanging over this pool of water.

Double Take

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 135 mm, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1250

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

I’d only brought the camera body with one lens (the all purpose Nikon 28-300 ultrazoom) on this weekend trip away. The extreme focal range is very handy – especially for a hike like this. Having such an all purpose lens does come with some compromises however. One of those is the fairly nervous bokeh it can introduce in the out of focus areas. Sometimes you can even use it to some good effect.

Nervous Crossing

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1100

and here is one of my daughter on this chilly morning… don’t have to worry about the bokeh if you frame so the background in the distance is in darkness still :)…

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/800 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

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I mostly photographed my daughter and her friends doing their normal activities whilst we were hiking and camping on their practice Duke of Edinburgh expedition at Berowra. I did however manage a few other “landscapey” images whilst I was there.

Frozen Fingers

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 82 mm, 1/100 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1600

We woke to an extremely cold morning camped down here next to Berowra creek. It must have dropped to near zero overnight with the ground, tents and our gear covered in frost in the morning. Our extremities were freezing!!

The fog on the river was however quite beautiful, the way it sat down low above the millpond still water. This gave me the opportunity to craft a few handheld images before returning to camp activities.

Weeping

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 50 mm, 1/50 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Berowra Reflections

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 116 mm, 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1400

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